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Author
Topic: Just got my meds!! (Read 5451 times)

Hey everyone! I'm a little bit sad...I just got my meds, but I'm very scared to start taking them! I'm just here watching the bottles trying to figure out what I did wrong in my life, how did I end up here!!

It's hard to explain!... lot of emotions in my mind right now!! don't know what to do!

I've been reading a lot, some people say these pills are poison, some other say that this will save my life... maybe both are right!! don't know what to think!! I am trying to keep positive but sometimes it's hard...

But well, I have decided that im starting tomorrow (truvada+norvir+prezista) with breakfast, hopefully im having no side effects!!

Hey everyone! I'm a little bit sad...I just got my meds, but I'm very scared to start taking them! I'm just here watching the bottles trying to figure out what I did wrong in my life, how did I end up here!!

It's hard to explain!... lot of emotions in my mind right now!! don't know what to do!

I've been reading a lot, some people say these pills are poison, some other say that this will save my life... maybe both are right!! don't know what to think!! I am trying to keep positive but sometimes it's hard...

But well, I have decided that im starting tomorrow (truvada+norvir+prezista) with breakfast, hopefully im having no side effects!!

Greetings!!!B.

I, personally, cannot relate to how you feel because I had no choice. I had to start meds or I was going to die. The reality is that untreated HIV/AIDS leads to death. The meds, I suppose, are toxic in a sense but not to those of us who need them. Swallow them and embrace life. You'll be fine! (I do understand being newly dxd etc - not trying to be a smartass, just telling the truth)

Logged

Diagnosed in May of 2010 with teh AIDS.

PCP Pneumonia . CD4 8 . VL 500,000

TRIUMEQ - VALTREX - FLUOXETINE - FENOFIBRATE - PRAVASTATIN - CIALIS

Numbers consistent since 12/2010 - VL has remained undetectable and CD4 is anywhere from 275-325

As said above, it is not a choice, as you will end up with a damaged immune system leading to to a faster progression = death. There are people in countries where there are no meds and too expensive, who will die and not given the choice.

You have to be very careful with what you read on the internet. They will call meds toxic and says silly things, all you have to do is pray/ be vegan /fast and get your energy from the earth e.t.c

Meds do have side effects, but it a trade off for your life. Not taking your meds is toxic!

You caught a virusYou must take pills for itYour pills are not poison and will definitely prevent death from this virusYou did nothing wrong in your lifeYour largest challenge won't be taking the pills, it will be trying to figure out how to be happy about life.

Thank you for your comments, i think it has been a shock of reality, i really needed it!!

I don't know how much time i've been poz, but i just knew it two months ago due to a urethritis. I went to to the doc and they took some blood and they came back to me positive. My first numbers were CD4 233 (15%) VL 200,000. After one month i did another lab test and the numbers were pretty much the same: CD4 300 (16%) VL 150,000, so my doctor suggested to start treatment immediatly.

I will be on truvada+prezista+norvir... I can't help but read all the information about this combo on internet and i've found very bad things... that im gonna gain weigh, that my face will lose volume, that my liver will be in high risk, my kidneys, that my stomach will be very damage... that is the reason im so scared... i don't know what will kill me the virus or the treatment!!

besides, i go to the gym and i take protein milkshakes, i don't know if i can keep drinking it, my dr said i should not drink alcohol, i don't know if i can keep taking a multivitaminic, etc etc, everything is so confusing right now!!!

I can't help but read all the information about this combo on internet and i've found very bad things... that im gonna gain weigh, that my face will lose volume, that my liver will be in high risk, my kidneys, that my stomach will be very damage... that is the reason im so scared... i don't know what will kill me the virus or the treatment!!

Look sweetheart -- all drugs contain scary information if you dig down into the warning label stuff. They simply include things that occurred during clinical trials that may have effected 1% of the subjects. It's like flying in a airplane. Sure, it could crash, but people still fly because it only happens infrequently. Basically I would say don't read the stuff if it's going to get your anxiety levels up so high that you're terrified to take the medications, because then I promise you're going to start imagining that all of those things are happening to you when, in fact, they are not.

If you'd like there are some helpful meditation exercises on youtube I could recommend: do a search on youtube for the following:

"15 minute sitting meditation (with download)"

"15 minute body scan meditation (with download)"

Best used with a smartphone or tablet, especially the last one as it's meant to be done laying down before going to sleep.

Look sweetheart -- all drugs contain scary information if you dig down into the warning label stuff. They simply include things that occurred during clinical trials that may have effected 1% of the subjects. It's like flying in a airplane. Sure, it could crash, but people still fly because it only happens infrequently. Basically I would say don't read the stuff if it's going to get your anxiety levels up so high that you're terrified to take the medications, because then I promise you're going to start imagining that all of those things are happening to you when, in fact, they are not.

If you'd like there are some helpful meditation exercises on youtube I could recommend: do a search on youtube for the following:

"15 minute sitting meditation (with download)"

"15 minute body scan meditation (with download)"

Best used with a smartphone or tablet, especially the last one as it's meant to be done laying down before going to sleep.

I will be on truvada+prezista+norvir... I can't help but read all the information about this combo on internet and i've found very bad things... that im gonna gain weigh, that my face will lose volume, that my liver will be in high risk, my kidneys, that my stomach will be very damage... that is the reason im so scared... i don't know what will kill me the virus or the treatment!!

besides, i go to the gym and i take protein milkshakes, i don't know if i can keep drinking it, my dr said i should not drink alcohol, i don't know if i can keep taking a multivitaminic, etc etc, everything is so confusing right now!!!

anyways, thanks for your support!

light and love to y'all...

B.

That combo is fine. I don't know what you are reading. Read the lessons on Poz and poz forums. Read ONLY information with DATES in the last few years. If you can't tell the quality of the source, and date of the information you are reading, STOP reading, as Miss P says. Yeah, just stop reading...

What country do you live in? What kind of doctor will treat you?

I think it is wise to keep the drinking low for the time being. Once you see how your body reacts to the combo you are starting with, you can drink more, if that is your pleasure. You'll probably want to get some labs including how your liver is doing. We mostly all get that, depending of course on the resources dedicated to our treatment by our circumstances...

You can and should expect to have few to no side effects, AFTER the first couple of weeks, getting used to being on HAART.

Logged

“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

You can take multivitamins. Don't take too many supplements but a vitamin is fine. I don't know how well-rounded your diet is, but if it is TOO high protein, you might want to go easy on the protein supplementation, just until you get your labs after a few months on HAART and check to see that your liver is functioning well. Do your really need the protein shakes? Eat a balance of high-quality protein, fat, and carbos.

Logged

“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I'm not trying to sound as if I am diminishing either the potency of the meds or the disease - just saying that I have been through a couple of combos and this one is a dream for me. The difference between this and the first combo I was on is night and day.

Seriously - just getting into the daily habit of taking meds is the hardest part. Once it is locked into ritual, it gets infinitely easier.

I hear people say all the time "Oh no! I will have to take them forever from here on out!"

Yeah...as things stand now, you most likely will. But lots of people have to do that same thing for all sorts of other ailments. Heck...my mother has to puncture herself several times a day to check her blood sugar. I would way rather swig pills than have to do that. ((shudder))

We're human. Parts break, systems fail, and intruders invade. Sooner or later, EVERYONE has to start doing some form of upkeep to keep the wagon rolling.

I'm not trying to sound as if I am diminishing either the potency of the meds or the disease - just saying that I have been through a couple of combos and this one is a dream for me. The difference between this and the first combo I was on is night and day.

Seriously - just getting into the daily habit of taking meds is the hardest part. Once it is locked into ritual, it gets infinitely easier.

I hear people say all the time "Oh no! I will have to take them forever from here on out!"

Yeah...as things stand now, you most likely will. But lots of people have to do that same thing for all sorts of other ailments. Heck...my mother has to puncture herself several times a day to check her blood sugar. I would way rather swig pills than have to do that. ((shudder))

We're human. Parts break, systems fail, and intruders invade. Sooner or later, EVERYONE has to start doing some form of upkeep to keep the wagon rolling.

This is a part of yours.

Hey thunder34,

Thanks for your words, your message is very honest! hopefully im having no strong side effects as well!!

I just got my meds, but I'm very scared to start taking them! I'm just here watching the bottles trying to figure out what I did wrong in my life, how did I end up here!!

It's hard to explain!... lot of emotions in my mind right now!! don't know what to do!

I've been reading a lot, some people say these pills are poison, some other say that this will save my life... maybe both are right!! don't know what to think!! I am trying to keep positive but sometimes it's hard...

But well, I have decided that im starting tomorrow (truvada+norvir+prezista) with breakfast, hopefully im having no side effects!!

Welcome!

1) I don't know your story, but you likely did nothing wrong except live. HIV doesn't discriminate based on right and wrong.

2) Being newly diagnosed (or newly prescribed) is an intensely emotional period for many of us. I would be more alarmed if you had no emotions about it whatsoever. Eventually, it all becomes normal.

3) Add one more voice to "the pills will save your life". It's your decision, but science is on the side of the pills. When I started HAART, I was pretty gravely ill. Within a couple of weeks of starting Stribild, I was better than my old self. Some people don't get sick at all from HIV until late in the disease, and the sick part can seem distant. Having gotten sick early has given me a great deal of respect for the power of antiretrovirals. How terrible I felt was nothing like what's to come if I don't stay medicated.

4) I can't speak to your exact cocktail, but I take Truvada + elvitegravir + cobicistat, and the side effects have been and remain tolerable, if not alarming at first. It all becomes normal after a while.

But I kinda knew that I was poz, I really misbehaved back in 2011 and 2012. I brought this to me, so I think I can't complain...

I will try to stay positive and reevaluate my life!!!

Thanks for your advises!!

Well, that's a bummer about your first test, but it's good you took that test so that you know and can take action!

Oh, and you didn't bring this on yourself. You probably didn't do anything that millions of other people haven't done or don't do on a daily basis, and there's nothing inherently wrong with most of those activities.

The virus has one goal: replicate. You got in its path, and your body is an ideal nursery. There's no moral angle to it.

You seem to have a great attitude about the whole thing. Good luck with the meds and everything.

Here's why. The internet is full of trash regarding the drugs, the disease et al from people who generally have no clue what they are talking about by and large. On POZ forums, there are PLENTY of survivors who will tell you the TRUTH and are LIVING WITH THIS VIRUS! It comes down to what do you want to believe...real people or real scary stories?

Logged

Diagnosed in May of 2010 with teh AIDS.

PCP Pneumonia . CD4 8 . VL 500,000

TRIUMEQ - VALTREX - FLUOXETINE - FENOFIBRATE - PRAVASTATIN - CIALIS

Numbers consistent since 12/2010 - VL has remained undetectable and CD4 is anywhere from 275-325

After 3 hours of taking them I started to feel like numbness, but i went away soon, then my stomach was like a balloon, I was full of gas, not diarrhea so far!!!

There's one weird thing that I don't know it's normal, last night I barely slept, I was so anxious and I started to feel like a burning sensation in my genital area and anus, as well in my thighs!! :/ should I call my dr and ask her or should I wait more days to see how it develops??

Congrats on starting your treatment. Try not to go to bed with rolling thoughts about the treatment, about being HIV+, with rolling thoughts about anything. I know, not easy. If you continue to not be able to sleep, get sleeping pills or anti-anxiety pills.

Any HAART combo can cause gas and hopefully this will stop happening after a bit of time.

I have no comment on the burning loins.

Logged

“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

Good morning...Last night was my third night on Atripla...I am a newbie like you....I am listening to the advice of those who say...RELAX, stop reading all the posts and internet....There are 1,000,000 taking meds and are fine....The first few weeks will be interesting to say the least but the mind is a powerful tool..I allowed it to spin me into an anxiety attach the first night..... 3rd night was fine...I take .5 mg 30 minutes before to relax, then take the pill and go to sleep...No problems...You CAN do it and you will be OK!